Author: Victoria Antram
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Campaign behind a ballot initiative to increase the minimum wage in Nebraska submits signatures
On July 7, Raise the Wage Nebraska, the campaign behind a ballot initiative to increase the state’s minimum wage to $15 by 2026, submitted over 152,00 signatures to the secretary of state. Currently, the minimum wage is $9 per hour. In Nebraska, the number of signatures required to qualify an initiated state statute for the…
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Two Massachusetts ballot initiatives filed a second round of signatures for a spot on the November ballot
The Massachusetts Secretary of State reported on July 7 that two ballot initiatives had filed a second round of signatures on July 6. One initiative would incrementally change the number of retail alcohol licenses an establishment could own from no more than 12 in 2023 to no more than 18 by 2031. It would also…
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Initiative to provide funding for pandemic detection and prevention programs qualifies for the California ballot in 2024
On July 5, the California Secretary of State reported that the initiative related to pandemic prevention programs, which initially targeted the 2022 ballot, had qualified for the 2024 ballot. The campaign submitted over 1.5 million signatures on May 5. The signature verification deadline was July 1—one day later than the June 30 deadline for the…
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Oregon voters will decide on an initiative to disqualify legislators from re-election for legislative absenteeism, including walkouts
In November, Oregon voters will decide on an initiative to disqualify legislators from re-election if they are absent from 10 legislative floor sessions without permission or excuse. On July 5, the Oregon Secretary of State announced that the initiative had received enough signatures to make the ballot. The proposed constitutional amendment needed 149,360 valid signatures (8%…
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Seven propositions on California’s general election ballot this year
June 30 was the deadline for ballot propositions to qualify for the November general election ballot in California. The deadline applied to signature verification, ballot proposition withdrawal, and legislative referrals. Californians will be deciding on seven ballot propositions—six citizen-initiated measures and one legislatively referred constitutional amendment. At the top of the ballot will be a…
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Initiative to increase the income tax to fund zero-emission vehicles and wildfire prevention programs in California qualifies for the ballot
On June 28, 2022, the California secretary of state reported that an initiative to increase the tax on personal income above $2 million by 1.75% and dedicate revenue to zero-emission vehicle projects and wildfire prevention programs had qualified for the November ballot. Clean Air California, the campaign behind the initiative, filed 990,608 raw signatures. The…
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Californians will decide on an amendment to provide a right to abortion and contraceptives in November
On June 27, the California State Assembly voted 58-16 on a constitutional amendment providing that “The state shall not deny or interfere with an individual’s reproductive freedom in their most intimate decisions …” Voters will decide on the measure in November. The amendment was introduced following the leak of a draft majority opinion for Dobbs…
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Online sports betting is heading to the California ballot in November
On June 27, the California secretary of state reported that an initiative to legalize online and mobile sports betting had qualified for the ballot. The final random sample count concluded that over 1.1 million of the nearly 1.6 million signatures submitted were valid. The required number of signatures for the initiative was 997,139. The initiative,…
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An initiative related to California dialysis clinics qualifies for the November ballot
On June 20, the California Secretary of State announced an initiative to enact staffing requirements, reporting requirements, ownership disclosure, and closing requirements at dialysis clinics had qualified for the November ballot. Californians for Kidney Dialysis Patient Protection, the campaign behind the initiative, submitted over 1 million signatures. The random sample concluded that 725,890 signatures were…
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Massachusetts Supreme Court disqualifies app-based drivers initiative from November ballot
On June 14, the Massachusetts Supreme Court issued a ruling disqualifying the app-based drivers initiative backed by Lyft, Instacart, DoorDash, and Uber, from the November ballot. A lawsuit was filed in January against Secretary of State William Galvin (D) and Attorney General Maura Healey (D) by several app-based drivers and voters arguing that the initiative…